In manufacturing of a semiconductor device, consideration is given to using a droplet discharge method to form a pattern of a thin film or a wiring used for a semiconductor element with a view to reduction in cost of equipment and simplification of a process.
On this occasion, in forming a film pattern in a semiconductor element, a film pattern is formed by performing a photolithography step of applying a resist to an entire surface of a substrate, prebaking, and then irradiating with ultraviolet rays or the like with a mask pattern therebetween and developing to form a resist pattern, and by etching and removing a film existing in a portion to be a film pattern (a film formed of a semiconductor material, an insulating material, or a conductive material) using the resist pattern as a mask pattern.
In addition, a technique for forming a film over a semiconductor wafer by using an apparatus capable of continuously discharging a resist in a linear shape with a fine diameter from a nozzle in order to improve a yield of a liquid required for film formation is disclosed in Reference 1 (Reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-188251).